China sets its goal to land astronauts on the moon before 2030
“Recently, the moon landing phase of China’s crewed lunar exploration program has started. The main goal is to send Chinese astronauts to land on the moon for the first time by 2030,” Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), told media at a press conference at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center May 29.
“This includes the development of a new generation manned carrier rocket, namely the Long March 10 launch vehicle, a new generation crew spacecraft, a lunar lander, a moon suit and other spaceflight products. The construction of a new launch site and tests on related launch facilities are also underway.”
A low Earth orbit variant of the rocket newly designated the Long March 10, based on the five-meter-diameter Long March 5, is expected to have a test flight in 2027. A pair of three-stage, triple-core Long March 10 variants for trans-lunar injection (27 tons to TLI) will be used to launch the landing stack and crewed segments of the lunar landing mission.
China’s coastal Wenchang spaceport is currently being expanded to host commercial launches, and will also be the site for the in-development Long March 10 and the larger Long March 9 rocket. CMSA also announced a call for plans for a lunar crew rover, potentially using a commercial development model.
“The goal also includes carrying out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments, mastering key technologies such as Earth-Moon crewed round-trips, lunar surface short-term stays, and human-robot joint exploration as well as completing multiple missions such as landing, roving, sampling, researching and returning, so as to form an independent crewed lunar exploration capability,” said Lin.
The crewed landing plan noted by Lin is for two astronauts to conduct a six-hour stay on the lunar surface, with another crew member remaining aboard a service module in lunar orbit.
